Geniac
YEAR: 1955
ITEM: Childrens' Comp./Game
COMPANY: Oliver Garfield Co., Inc.
COUNTRY: USA
IN OUR COLLECTION: Yes
Geniac, which is short for Genius Almost-Automatic Computer, is essentially an educational toy for young people. It can be assembled to play games, like tic-tac-toe, or solve arithmetic puzzles. There are 125 separate circuits for operating each "brain machine"2.
In 1955, Edmund Berkeley and Oliver Garfield began producing the first Geniacs. The partnership between Berkeley and Garfield did not last long. The two had disputes which culminated in a lawsuit. As a result, Garfield continued to sell his version of the product as the "Geniac" for a time, and Berkeley started selling his official version of the product as the "Brainiac"1. The Geniac model in our collection is one of the Oliver Garfield Co., Inc. models.
We also have the original documents that come with the kit. These include:
Information on Simple Electric Brain Machines and how to use them.
Beginners Manual
Wiring Diagrams
Machine to Compose Music
Symbolic Analysis of Relay Circuits
Geniac Study Guide
Labels for Geniac
Design-O-Mat
Viewer Stories & Comments
My first introduction to Boolean Logic, and digital logic.
Can anyone tell me what an original GENIAC computer kit from 1958 would be worth. It is in its original shipping box.
I had a GENIAC as a 10-year old. Fascinating to see it again. The site says you have the original documents. Will you please scan the documents for online display? If I remember correctly the documents contain the thesis of Claude Shannon, a big step up for a 10-year old.
Documents
Documents for this item have not yet been scanned or not yet posted. There are a lot of pages...contact us if you have an immediate need. (Although there are not a lot of "immediate needs" for a 70+ year old computer!)
OUR DEFINITIONS OF RARITY
One of a Kind: Only known existing item.
Exceedingly Rare: Only 2 to 10 known to exist.
Very Rare: Only 11 to 25 are known to exist.
Rare: Only 26 to 50 are known to exist.
Difficult: Difficult to find.
Available:Can be commonly be purchased.
Unknown: We cannot make a determination.
(For comparison: Many people consider the Apple-1 computer to be rare. As of 2025 there are 92 confirmed and probable Apple-1 computers.)
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